Women\u27s oral health: Growing evidence for enhancing perspectives

Women\u27s health, including oral health, is an evolving science with foundation knowledge from many disciplines. Key milestones, particularly in the last decade, provide a roadmap towards the necessary inclusion of gender into dental practice. Such focus is especially important for the evolving role of oral health care providers as primary health care providers. Continued progress of the vibrant incorporation of evidence-based women\u27s oral health into the standard practice of oral health care is encouraged. This expanded preface provides an introduction to this DCNA issue, a brief history and timeline of major women\u27s oral health events, and resources for further consideration. © 2013

Depression is not associated with diabetes control in minority elderly

AIMS: We investigated the longitudinal association of depression, with and without cognitive dysfunction, with hemoglobin A1c (HbA1c), systolic blood pressure (SBP), and low-density lipoprotein (LDL) in a predominantly minority cohort. METHODS: There were 613 participants. Presence of depression was defined by a score ≥ 7 on the Short-CARE depression scale. We tested participants for executive dysfunction using the Color Trails Test (CTT), part 2, and for memory dysfunction using the total recall task of the Selective Reminding Test (TR-SRT). We classified performance in these tests as abnormal based on standardized score cutoffs (<16th percentile and one standard deviation below the sample mean). Random effects models were used to compare repeated measures of the diabetes control measures between those with depression versus those without depression and ever versus never cognitively impaired. RESULTS: Baseline depression was present in 36% of participants. Over a median follow-up of 2 years, depression was not related to worse HbA1c, SBP, or LDL. The presence of (1) abnormal performance on a test of executive function and depression (n = 57) or (2) abnormal performance on a test of verbal recall and depression (n = 43) was also not associated with clinically significant worse change in diabetes control. CONCLUSIONS: Depression, with or without low performance in tests of executive function and memory, may not affect clinically significant measures of diabetes control in the elderly